Mumbai: Bollywood star Salman Khan has apologized for his tweets on Yakub Memon, who is on death row for the 1993 serial blasts in Mumbai, capital of the western Indian state of Maharashtra.
The apology on Sunday came after a day of protests, mostly by workers of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP, Indian people’s party) that now rules Maharashtra as well the federal government.
On Saturday night, the actor had tweeted saying Yakub should not be hanged and instead, his brother Tiger Memon, the absconding main accused in the case, should be sent to the gallows, reports ndtv.com.
But his tweets triggered a storm of protests, with flag carrying, slogan shouting members of the local BJP holding a demonstration outside his home. Some of them were detained by the police, who had strengthened security outside the residence of Khan in the afternoon. In the evening, Khan tweeted:
Earlier, Mumbai BJP president Ashish Shelar appealed to the state governor to cancel the bail of Khan, who is an accused in several cases. “I have appealed that Salman Khan is himself a convicted person and he spoke in favor of another convicted person… So his bail plea should be cancelled,” he said.
Yoga teacher Ramdev, too, had said, “It is important to teach lesson to anti nationals… People who support anti-national activities on humanitarian grounds should also be punished.”
Khan’s father, noted screenwriter Salim Khan, had also expressed his disapproval. “He (Salman) should not say anything about these kind of serious topics without any knowledge. Salman is ignorant of the issue and people should not take him seriously,” Salim Khan said.
Tiger Memon had allegedly masterminded the blast along with Dawood Ibrahim, an underworld don, to avenge the demolition of an ancient mosque in Ayodhya by some 150,000 Hindu zealots in 1992. Both men have been on the run since 1993.
Of the 11 people convicted in the case, Yakub Memon, who had maintained that he knew nothing of the conspiracy, was the only one to be given the death sentence.
The case has reopened the debate about the death penalty. On Sunday, a group of eminent citizens filed a new mercy petition before President Pranab Mukherjee, asking for a relook at the execution order for Yakub Memon.
Memon is to be executed on July 30, which also happens to be his 52nd birthday. He has already filed a mercy petition with the Maharashtra Governor and a petition in the Supreme Court asking for a stay on the death warrant. The plea will be heard on Monday.